New state government

“White smoke” on the roof of the Bregenz Landhaus

Intensive negotiations have taken place in the Bregenz Landhaus over the past few days, and in the end Markus Wallner (ÖVP) and Christof Bitschi (FPÖ) have come together as expected.

(Bild: JOCHEN HOFER / APA / picturedesk.com)

Vorarlberg has a new state government: the coalition negotiations between the ÖVP and FPÖ have come to a successful conclusion. The key points of the pact will be presented on Tuesday.

Two people have obviously found each other! After intensive negotiations, the new state government has been formed and, as expected, the ÖVP and FPÖ have been able to agree on a joint government program. According to reports, the negotiations went smoothly and there were no major hurdles to overcome, particularly in terms of content. In view of two party programs that are largely congruent, this finding is not particularly surprising.

Party committees must approve coalition pact
According to reports in the corridors of the Landhaus, negotiations on the division of portfolios were much tougher. On Monday morning, the last outstanding issues were clarified, and in the early afternoon it was announced: there is an agreement in principle! The executive boards of the Vorarlberg People's Party and the Freedom Party both unanimously confirmed the coalition paper, which had been drawn up since October 21, on Monday evening.

Not a word leaked out
In general, all those involved behaved in an extremely disciplined manner. In contrast to previous coalition talks, no details of the negotiated package were leaked to the public. Governor Markus Wallner (ÖVP) and FPÖ state leader Christof Bitschi will present the key points of the government program on Tuesday morning - in time for the constituent session of the new state parliament on Wednesday. All outstanding personnel questions will then be answered. It will be particularly exciting to see how the ÖVP and FPÖ have agreed on the distribution of portfolios.

In Vorarlberg, the state government consists of seven people - as stipulated in the state constitution. The Vorarlberg ÖVP has never had fewer than five state councillors (including the governor) in its history. In purely mathematical terms - the ÖVP achieved a 38.30 percent share of the vote in the state parliamentary elections in October, the FPÖ 28.00 percent - the Freedom Party would be entitled to three of the seven seats. However, the ÖVP in particular also had the option of offering the FPÖ two provincial councillors and the post of deputy governor instead of a third seat. It is very likely that the allocation of the "desired portfolios" also influenced the distribution of seats.